Today's Remedy: Back Strain

My husband recently strained his back severely while doing yard work. He was walking gingerly, stoop-shouldered and stiff, like a little old man. My husband has a high pain tolerance -- much higher than mine -- and when he looks and acts like that, it's time to stop and take note.

Advil and BenGay-type rubs only treat the symptoms of discomfort, and you have to re-apply repeatedly until the body heals itself. That sounded like a road we'd been down before (somewhat unsuccessfully) so I thought we'd try some oils on him instead of Advil this time. It proved very successful.

Here is the feel-better solution we chose for his back strain:

1. Applied 2 drops each of AromaTouch massage blend, Deep Blue soothing blend, and peppermint oil, cut with equal parts fractionated coconut oil since we needed to cover a large area. Cutting the oil helps it spread more easily and cover more area. Be aware, though, that it also takes a little longer to penetrate and get through the body this way. 
2. Let those oils soak in for about 60 seconds
3. Covered the whole area with about 2-3 drops of Frankincense-- it intensifies the healing power of whatever oils it covers. I did not need to cut the Frankincense with coconut oil; it spread easily over the other oils we had already applied.
4. Put a hot wet compress over everything, and left it on until the towel cooled, about 5-7 minutes. The compress drives the oils deeper into the muscle more quickly.

We did all this shortly before bedtime, so it's hard to know exactly when he felt better, but when he woke up the next morning he was 80% better, and by the end of the next day, he was pain-free!

Needless to say, we have a new sore-muscle remedy at our house! I hope this is something you can use, too.

Happy healing!